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Twins demote former top overall pick Royce Lewis

By Thomson Reuters May 19, 2026 | 11:30 AM

The Minnesota Twins demoted slumping infielder Royce Lewis to Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday.

The news comes on the heels of the Twins sending outfielder Matt ​Wallner to St. Paul last week. Wallner had ‌22 homers last season.

Also on Tuesday, the Twins placed catcher Ryan Jeffers on the 10-day injured list with a fractured left hamate bone. They also selected the contracts of infielder Orlando Arcia and catcher ‌Alex ​Jackson and recalled right-hander Travis Adams ⁠from St. Paul.

The No. 1 ⁠overall pick of the 2017 MLB Draft, Lewis is batting .163 with three homers and 13 RBIs with 37 strikeouts in 31 games this season.

Lewis spent time on ​the 10-day injured list last month due to a left knee sprain. Before the injury, he was batting .222 with ⁠two home runs, two doubles ⁠and eight RBIs in 12 games this season.

Lewis, ​who turns 27 on June 5, is hitting .246 with 49 ​homers and 169 RBIs in 289 career games with ‌the Twins.

Jeffers, 28, sustained the injury during his at-bat in the eighth inning in Monday’s 6-3 victory over the Houston Astros.

He is batting .295 with seven home runs and 26 ⁠RBIs in 37 games.

Arcia, 31, is batting .318 with eight homers and 27 RBIs in 39 games with the Saints this season. He ⁠has played in ‌parts of 10 major league seasons with ⁠the Milwaukee Brewers (2016-21), Atlanta Braves (2021-25) and Colorado ​Rockies (2025), ‌hitting .239 with 90 home runs and 347 RBIs ​in 1,104 ⁠games.

Jackson, 30, is batting .239 with seven homers and 15 RBIs in 24 games with the Saints this season.

Adams, 26, allowed three runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings in a pair of relief appearances earlier this month with the ​Twins.

–Field Level Media